Dereham Town Council has installed safety measures through Neatherd Moor in Dereham to help make the area safer for children, dogs and park users.

The five black and yellow speed bumps are designed to slow traffic down to five miles per hour and have cost just over £4,000 to install on the road which leads up to three properties and land at the back of the site.

People living in the area and who use the park have said they understand the reasons for the safety measures but that the speed bumps are out of keeping with the rural setting of the Neatherd.

Interior designer Adam Guerin, 42, who has to negotiate all five speed bumps to get to his house at the back of the Neatherd, and whose wife is heavily pregnant, said: “They have ruined the park and are ruining everyone’s enjoyment of the Neatherd. There is no disabled access – an old boy who comes on his mobility scooter can’t get over the bumps and can’t get around them – and it looks like an industrial estate.”

He added: “It’s a drama to get out of my own house.”

Keith Webb, 62, who lives next door to Mr Guerin, said: “They are an abomination, ill-thought through and a monstrosity. They are the most pernicious type of speed bump and are out of keeping with the area. I am all for slowing traffic down but there are other solutions and other ways to deal with the issue.”

In a letter to Mr Guerin, the town council said a petition had been formed, calling for the speed bumps to be put in place. There were 35 names on the petition, the council said. Carol Barnes, who walks her dog on the park, said: “They are over the top and out of keeping with the rural setting.”

It appears to me that the residents who are complaining about these speed humps only have themselves to blame. As these residents are the only people who access this road (bar the odd delivery) they are clearly the ones speeding down the road! The fact that a petition was raised only strengthens this. As for saying the humps ruin the park, the residents choose to forget about the rutstracks that have been made by their vehicles driving around the humps. Just look to the left of the photo in the article and you will see tracks. And before anyone jumps down my throat I witnessed this happening twice this week! Not content with speeding through the park they now wish to drive their cars across the park damaging the grass and putting the safety of people using the park at further risk and then have the cheek to moan about it just because it takes a few extra seconds to get home. Excessive speed kills. Fact